What is Stadium? (Previously 120 Sports)

Stadium is a Digital Broadcast Network Dedicated to Sports Commentary and News

“Stadium is a multi-platform sports network that brings together exclusive live games, extensive highlights and daily studio programming. Welcome to the Game.”

When it comes to sports news and highlights, the vast majority of sports fans turn to ESPN for their information, but that’s slowly changing. In the quest for a better cable TV alternative, cord cutters have searched for or created their own apps and services that provide the sports news that you desire.

One such app that’s trying to disrupt that paradigm is Stadium, a digital broadcast network dedicated to sports commentary and news; which officially launched on June 25, 2014. Backed by an amalgam of different companies (Time Inc, Sports Illustrated, MLBAM, the NHL, the PGA TOUR, Campus Insiders and Silver Chalice), Stadium has various deals with the different professional sports leagues; which allows it to have access to the highly copyrighted footage that comes from all of America’s favorite games.

What’s on Stadium

While Stadium styles itself as somewhat of a digital ESPN, there are some stark differences. To start, there are no actual games on Stadium. It’s all news and highlights for the time being, which is not necessarily bad. Instead of trying to produce 24 hours worth of content, Stadium creates about 76 hours of content a week; split up into two-minute videos.

The extensive lineup of daily programming includes:

8 hours of live evening coverage, seven days a week

Morning Run (Live morning show) – 8-10 am ET

Football Fix: 12-1 pm ET

Fantasy Lunch Hour: 1-2 pm ET

Library of always-accessible on-demand sports videos

With each video, you can scroll down and see social media comments related to the video. It’s a nice little addition that makes each story feel a bit more like a conversation; adding a nice social aspect to the platform. You can join in as well just by clicking a button and signing into Twitter.

Site and App Navigation

With thousands of small videos, you might think it would be difficult to navigate through the app but it’s not. There are several different ways you can search for videos. You can follow specific stories by clicking on the tags associated with each video, and related content will show up in a section called “Following.”

This is great if you’re trying to follow a specific sport or athlete, but you don’t want to wade through thousands of unrelated videos. The feature works surprisingly well, and it’s just as easy to unfollow something as it is to follow it; which is something I appreciate.

If you’re not sure what you’re looking for, you can always check out the Live Events section, and mark your calendar for upcoming broadcasts. If you’ve missed out on the some of the bigger news stories of the week, then simply go to the home page and check out the “Latest News” section.

If you’re curious as to the hot topics of the day, you can check out the Trending section. In the Trending section, you’ll be able to sort through various popular topics and find related videos. You also have the option of following the topics as well.

Stadium app in the App Store, Android mobile app in the Google Store, as well as on Apple TV

Coming soon: Roku, Amazon Fire TV

Stadium Sports Roadmap

Looking forward, Stadium is hoping to start adding original shows in addition to sports commentary. Earlier this month, the company signed a content deal with Spark SMG to help expand its access to sports content and certain brands.

According to Media Post, the first show in development “involves a Bass Pro Shops branded interview series featuring UFC starfighters, Chad Mendes and Jeremy Stephens, and St. Louis Rams Pro-Bowl Punter, Johnny Hekker to highlight their offseason routines,” and will “explore how these competitors enjoy spending their free time and seek adventures off the playing field.”

Cord Cutting Sports fans love Stadium

Depending on how this show is handled, Stadium’s content expansion could be a boom or bust to the network. Hopefully, they’ll pull it off because I would like to see a free online sports broadcaster rise up and finally provide a true cable TV alternative for sports.

If you’re curious about Stadium, I’d suggest you give it a try. It won’t replace ESPN (What is Sling TV), but it’s a great addition to your cord cutting toolbox. And given the big potential for this little network, it’s definitely worth the look.